Crypto News Roundup for Jan. 17, 2020

Today's news:

• Bitcoin gaining today after two straight days of declines, up 1.3 percent to around $8,800.
• The Block reports Grayscale Investments, a unit of Digital Currency Group, which is the owner of CoinDesk, raised more than $600 million from investors last year. And that’s up from 66 percent in 2018https://grayscale.co/insights/grayscale-2018-digital-asset-investment-report/.
• The Libra Association, working under the auspices of Facebook to create a digital currency, has designated the leadership of a committee that will coordinate the token’s proposed design.
• And crypto tax legislation is getting a new life in the U.S. Congress.
• Some investors at a crypto conference this week in Switzerland say the U.S. may be entering a new cold war with China - over the future of money.
• Back in North America, The Block reports most Canadian crypto exchanges will likely fall under the country’s securities laws following new guidance published Thursday.
• And just a day after reports emerged that the Malta-based crypto exchange Binance will soon restrict access to Japanese residents, the exchange now says it’s eyeing the launch of a new trading platform for the Asian market.
• Patrick McDonnell, 47, was sentenced to 33 months in prison on Thursday and ordered to pay $224,352 to victims, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

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